The Big Finish by Brooke Fossey

March 7, 2020

The Big Finish by Brooke Fossey

Duffy Sinclair lives at Centennial, a small assisted living facility.  Although he has a natural rebellious streak, he tries to keep it in check, since he lives in fear of being sent to live at “Simmons,” the local nursing home.  This could happen because he has run out of money, or because his health has deteriorated to the point that the staff at Centennial can no longer care for him, or because he's too much trouble.  But Duffy’s plans to stay under the radar run aground when his roommate’s granddaughter Josie climbs through their bedroom window one night, barefoot, bruised, and drunk.  Duffy decides that providence has given him one last shot at redemption, so he sets out to save Josie from herself.

Ah, curmudgeons.  They seem to be everywhere ever since Fredrik Backman’s A Man Called Ove, especially in the old-person-meets-young-person-and-they-change-each-other’s-lives format.  I really wanted to like this book more than I did, since the cover art made it look like it was going to be a warm, funny read.  And a lot of early readers HAVE found it funny and endearing, and talked about how it made them laugh and cry.  I got to the end and thought, “that’s it?”

Part of my problem was that I didn’t care that much for the characters, especially Josie.  I would have liked fewer descriptions of walkers and shaky hands, and more backstory for Duffy.  And I was really irritated with how simple it was to get Josie off the booze:  just give her some Valium and Antabuse, and all of a sudden, she’s cured.

It. Does. Not. Work. That. Way.

I was married to an alcoholic, and if an alcoholic had trouble dealing with their problems during their drinking days, just because they are no longer abusing alcohol doesn’t mean that they are suddenly going to turn into fully functioning human beings capable of making good decisions.  If getting sober was as simple as giving the addict a few drugs to get them over the worst of withdrawal, addiction would no longer be a problem.

Disappointing overall.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC in return for a review.